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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454349">ただいま</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_shit99/pseuds/lil_shit99'>lil_shit99</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Banana Fish (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ash Lynx Lives, Long-Haired Okumura Eiji, M/M, Okumura Eiji Needs a Hug, Photographer Okumura Eiji, Reunions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:54:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,284</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454349</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_shit99/pseuds/lil_shit99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been too long, <i>too long</i>.</p><p>And finally, he comes home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ash Lynx &amp; Okumura Eiji, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>205</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>ただいま</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>ただいま<br/><i>tadaima</i></p><p>I'm home.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was surprisingly easy to find the university he had sniffed out from Facebook, considering it was one of the famous university in Tokyo. He smiled gently at that thought, <em>of course he’s in the famous university, he’s a smart one</em>. A tap to his shoulder made him cut his thoughts and when he turned around, a girl that looked like she had to be in middle school looked up at him with dark doe eyes.</p><p>She was wearing a shirt with a jean skirt that stops above her knees, an oversized cardigan covered her body from the wind, with a pair of those chunky sneakers. There’s a crossbody purse on her person and her long hair was tied into a fashionable bun. Something about her, dark eyes that seemed too innocent and a young face, was familiar for him. <em>Too</em> familiar.</p><p>“Hello,” she tested, thick accent coating the words. “Can I help you? Are you lost?”</p><p>He scratched his nape and shook his head, a little thankful that the girl had talked to him in English because the only Japanese words he knew was probably not helpful. His hair was cut shorter as he brushed his nape and found jagged ends, it’s unfamiliar but a good change for him. Finding his voice with a cough, he finally answered back, “Uhm, I’m not lost actually. I want to find my friend that is enrolled here?”</p><p>The girl tilted her head a little and nodded, “Aa, I am sorry, I thought you were lost.” Then a smile settled on her lips and that sense of familiarity came back again, “I can help you find your friend, yes? There is a festival today and I need to find my older brother, too.”</p><p>His smile bloomed in gratefulness, “That’d be great!”</p><p>They started to walk then, conversing to each other politely. Sometimes, he would be silent as the girl took her time to search for the right words to answer him. Her presence was welcoming to him and to ward off any potential disturbers, such as the girls that began to whisper amongst themselves as they walked. He didn’t need any of them, he just needed <em>him</em>.</p><p>“You sure are popular,” the girl commented as they passed yet <em>another </em>group of girls giggling and red faced. There’s a shit-eating grin on her face and he let a smile took over his face again, now a little tired, “Yeah, it’s tiring, though.”</p><p>She hummed beside him, legs moving a bit faster because of his unforgiving longer legs, “I thought people loves it when others acknowledge their attractiveness.” He snorted at that and let a bitter smile graced his lips, “Not exactly. Some people wants anonymity, sometimes, you know?”</p><p>She tilted her head at the new word, “Ano-ny-mi-ty?”</p><p>He hummed, “To be unknown.” She hummed back and didn’t press further. The festival was packed with people and sometimes they could see people decked out in costumes and kimono. The hallway was full of people that sometimes the both of them murmured “<em>sumimasen</em>” (“It means ‘excuse me’ and we will be saying it a lot.”).</p><p>They finally reached a hallway that was full of tall walls with framed pictures or paintings. His eyes continued to jump one way after the other, appreciating the arts and searching for that one person, at the same time. The girl purposefully slowed her pace down when she saw him.</p><p>“We are now reaching the arts department. Your friend is a photography major, too?” she asked. He nodded at her, a smile settling on his face as he recalled <em>him</em> from his memories, “Yes, he is. In my opinion, he’s the best photographer, there is.”</p><p>The girl beside him scoffed a little, “My older brother is the <em>top</em> of his class. So, I think he is the best, although he is one stinky head.” He laughed at that, head whipping back and carefree. They talked to each other, the girl sometimes had to crane her neck to see him and sometimes she just outright clicked her tongue in distaste at their height difference.</p><p>She was straightforward and he liked her company, although they hadn’t introduced themselves, he was too giddy about finally meeting <em>him</em> to ask for a name.</p><p>“We are here!” she mentioned then, pointing a finger towards a room. They walked to the said room and he reveled at the framed pictures covering the room. A smaller hand tugged his wrist to a wall decked out in pictures and he didn’t push it away, eyes widening at the feel of the pictures. The girl beside him puffed her chest out in pride, “These are all my brother’s. Pretty, aren’t they?”</p><p>“Beautiful. It’s beautiful.”</p><p>He didn’t see the girl looking at him with unreadable eyes and smile, too immersed in the pictures. He <em>knew</em> these pictures, the feel, the <em>warmth</em>, and <em>fuck</em>, there’s tears in his eyes. Blinking them away, he glanced at the girl from the corner of his eyes, “Hey, kid, what is your name? We haven’t introduced ourselves.”</p><p>The girl puffed her cheeks at that, <em>so so familiar</em>, “I am <em>not</em> a kid. I am in my last year of high school.” He chuckled and waved his hands, “Yeah, yeah. You’re still a kid in my eyes, though.” That got him an indignant noise from her, he shrugged it off and asked again, “So, your name?”</p><p>Her cheeks were still puffed up, “Ugh, Americans. Fine, my name is–”</p><p>
  <em>“Aiko!”</em>
</p><p>His eyes widened immediately at the voice as the girl whipped her head around to see her older brother. The girl left his side, after throwing a concerned glance, and met her brother in his walking. The brother fussed over her and she blew raspberries at him in retaliation. They talked for a while before her brother finally saw the tall blonde man that accompanied her.</p><p><em>His </em>voice didn’t change, he noted, feet freezing in his place. But the accented English <em>he</em> had had three years ago vanished a little. He cursed himself a little for not placing the familiarity of the girl a little faster before; because, <em>of course, it’s his baby sister</em>.</p><p>Universe either really hated him or loved him.</p><p>“Hello,” <em>he</em> said politely and he really wanted to cry. “Are you the one who accompanies my sister here? Thank you for that.”</p><p>He inhaled a long breathe and exhaled it, closing his eyes before slowly turning around. There’s a sharp gasp of air and he opened his eyes, unshed tears clouding his sight. He let a watery smile out, that said <em>I miss you so much, I’m so sorry, I love you I love you I love–</em></p><p>
  <em>“Eiji.”</em>
</p><p>Eiji looked the same, but with longer hair that hung awkwardly on his shoulders. There is a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, oval shaped. His fondness of oversized clothing was still there, proven by the huge unbuttoned shirt he was wearing. But, at the same time, it highlighted the fact that the dark haired man had thinner figure now.</p><p>“Ash? Ash, is that really you?” the soft voice that washed over him was similar and watery. He tilted his head a little and opened his arms, a flush settling on his pale face as his green eyes glittered, “I’m here, Eiji. I’m here.”</p><p>With that, Eiji finally threw himself across the room into his arms, nuzzling his tear-streaked face into the column of his neck. Ash reciprocated the hug quickly, bending his waist a little to loop his arms around the smaller man’s trim waist. There’s wetness seeping to his turtleneck and a chant of his name in the voice that he had missed so much.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i,,,,,,,am still sad.</p><p>Everytime i see the fanarts, eSPECIALLY, the ones where they are happy and full of life, my tears are like "yeah, goodbye bitch" and then i would cry like a baby.</p><p>/SCREECH/ JUST GIVE ME A SEQUEL WHERE THEY LIVE HAPPILY, COWARDS!!</p><p>also, i love long-haired eiji for far too much pls spare me. all of my works in banana fish are with long-haired eiji. he just looks so pretty and cute and--ugh. bUT THEN, i saw this one post?? that said the reason eiji let his hair grow long is bc ash touched it and i BAWLED MY EYES OUT AGAIN.</p><p>okay, im done ranting. pls give this work some love and i also have like too many unfinished works for banana fish, i wanna cry.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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